Is American unilateralism then the answer? Define security assistance. [5] USASAC is responsible for life cycle management of FMS cases, from development to execution, financial management, accounting, and settlement. Again, there is confusion because the writers use the source as authority for the impact of military assistance while the source speaks of military interventions. However, the manual also maintains an “FMS-only list” that enumerates categories of items that are ineligible for direct transactions, such as fighter aircraft, missiles, sonar and unmanned systems. In my view, there is a very real “moral hazard” to inaction in war. In 1966, the growing ILC was redesignated the U.S. Army International Logistics Center, and the SMC was discontinued and its functions were assumed by AMC. The prodigious 2018 sum is composed of $55.66 billion in foreign military sales, a security assistance program administered by the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Several statutory restrictions limit use of FMS credit. Regardless of how the intervention is conceived—or empirically operationalized—there seems to be no mix of strategies that leads to shorter expected durations. As British philosopher John Stuart Mill observed in his 1859 essay, a “person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.”. China does much the same. Additionally, PKO funds help diminish and resolve conflict; enhance the ability of states to participate in stability operations and address counter-terrorism and maritime security threats; and reform military establishments, in the aftermath of conflict, into professional military forces. Does anyone believe, for example, that Pakistan (a nation of 212 million) or India (1.3 billion people), two countries these writers explicitly mention, are just American “proxies”? Moreover, it is not uncommon for contractors to find it difficult to negotiate favorable terms with foreign governments, which, for example, routinely insist on subjecting the contract to their domestic choice of law and to resolving disputes before their local courts. The Defense Department’s inspector general March 19 announced that an audit was about to commence on the FMS agreement development process. Simply because multilateral institutions and coalition partners join America’s fight against terrorist threats by no means makes them “proxies” of the U.S. One facet of that is equipment, and it’s inarguable that when our allies use U.S. equipment, logistics, training, and warfighting are facilitated. Today, USASAC remains "The Army's Face to the World," – the one-stop focal point for Army FMS and the "international partner of choice" in U.S. security assistance. Leveraging our global strategic perspective to assist regional and functional bureaus in addressing regional and global challenges, we work closely with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, and Combatant Commands to help develop comprehensive political-military solutions to complex national security issues. Still, remember what we like to say on Lawfire®: gather the facts, examine the law, evaluate the arguments – and then decide for yourself! Publications; SC Stakeholders ; Foreign Military Sales FAQ; Trade Shows; Videos ; Transparency . The source is really discussing increases in violence when the rebels have resources, to include access to other than foreign support. In fiscal year 2018 alone, it authorized defense exports totaling $192.3 billion, an increase of 6 percent from the preceding fiscal year. Research indicates that U.S. security assistance increased by over 229 percent from 2001 to 2019.”. For less sensitive defense and dual-use items, the Department of Commerce’s bureau of industry and security is the relevant export control licensing authority. Moreover, and except as provided below with respect to NDIA's right and ability to delete or remove a posting (or any part thereof), NDIA does not endorse, oppose, or edit any opinion or information provided by you or another user and does not make any representation with respect to, nor does it endorse the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other material displayed, uploaded, or distributed by you or any other user. On 1 October 2001, USASAC relocated its headquarters to Fort Belvoir, Va., completing a planned move onto government-owned property. Of course, as I mentioned above, there are issues deserving of discussion with respect to U.S. security assistance. In other words, the decades-old data relied on by Benowitz and Ceccanese’s source seems to be interpreted by him as indicating economic aid, even when organized in a neutral, multilateral way, will not shorten conflict. Given that many nations will be buying advanced weapons in any event, let’s ask ourselves this: isn’t it better that they buy them from U.S. sources where there are at least legal constraints on their use? Lawfire is powered by WordPress at Duke WordPress Sites. The Security Assistance Team, in close cooperation with the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources (F), regional and functional bureaus, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and U.S. regional Combatant Commanders, determines military grant assistance policy, develops and manages the programs’ budgets, provides notifications to Congress, supports determinations made to waive legislative constraints on security assistance funding, distributes funds, and provides program oversight.